Ottawa - Canada ignores its international legal obligations when it maintains it has the right to deport people to countries where they risk torture, Amnesty International says in a report card to the United Nations. "International law is very clear . . . the international legal protection against torture, including removal to face torture, is absolute and applies in all circumstances, and Canadian law and practice must be reformed accordingly," Amnesty says. The Amnesty report, to be presented to the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva next week, also takes the federal government to task for imprisoning four Muslim men without charges as alleged security risks and failing to implement a long-promised independent appeal process for people making refugee claims. The UN panel conducts periodic reviews of how member states are living up to their human-rights obligations. This year, Canada is one of the countries being put under the microscope.

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